TikTok Sues US Government Over Forced Divestiture and Potential Ban

Sapna Maheshwari and David McCabe, reporting for The New York Times:

TikTok sued the federal government on Tuesday over a new law that would force its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the popular social media app or face a ban in the United States, stoking a battle over national security and free speech that is likely to end up in the Supreme Court.

TikTok said the law violated the First Amendment by effectively removing an app that millions of Americans use to share their views and communicate freely. It also argued that a divestiture was “simply not possible,” especially within the law’s 270-day timeline, pointing to difficulties such as Beijing’s refusal to sell a key feature that powers TikTok in the United States.

Must be nice for a Chinese company to be able to sue the government and make arguments on freedom of speech grounds.

★ Tuesday, 7 May 2024